Guy, Author at koru-cottage.com

Metro: Exodus, PS4 Review

Feb 22, 2019 Guy 1383 Views DEEP SILVER, FPS, Metro Exodus

I like Russia. Not so much for the long history of political intrigue or its civil rights abuses, but for its tough people and their underlying ability to just get shit done with very little. The Metro games are about survival in a post nuclear war Russia, and as I just alluded, not surviving in some luxurious capitalist-pig fallout shelter…….but like a tough as nails Russian, on little to no resources, ammunition and intel.

Now, its not lost on me that the developer 4A Games is in fact Ukrainian not Russian. However, as a nation with a long standing connection to Russia, (for both good and bad reasons) it gives them the unique ability to give Western gamers a glimpse into what a post-apocalyptic Mother-Russia might look like. Suffice is to say they know what they are doing and the end result is… brilliant and terrifying.

Check out the Video Review – Click It, Like It, Share It!

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Byte Size – Riot: Civil Unrest, PS4 Review

Feb 13, 2019 Guy 1151 Views Byte Size, PS4, RTS

Living in New Zealand in 2019, I don’t tend to be exposed to large scale civil unrest. So as a resident of gods-own, Riot: Civil Unrest immediately caught my attention, for being about something I have little knowledge or experience of, and frankly it is one of the more unique ideas for a video game I have seen in recent months.

The Good – The scenarios are based around real world incidents, including ‘The Arab Spring’ and the game is nuanced enough, even with its limited art style, to relay how difficult civil unrest is on both sides of the riot line.

The Bad – At times the 8bit art style looks great with cleverly designed sprites, but it very quickly becomes a blur of activity and it is hard at times to know whats going on.

The Ugly – The designers have made a strategy game with only one way to approach any given scenario to properly win, which for an RTS, takes the fun of choice away.

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Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, PS4/PSVR Video Review

Jan 27, 2019 Guy 1444 Views ACE Combat; Flight Sim; Arcade;

I am a flight-sim nerd from waaaay back, but nowadays most of my gaming is on Console and even arcade flight games, especially this generation, are pretty thin on the ground. When I heard Ace Combat 7 was planning a landing on PS4 and PSVR my Top-Gun-Loving heart skipped a beat.

Unfortunately my prayers for a hard-core sim have not been answered, however what I got instead, was one of the most fun Arcade Flight titles I have played in years. It is brilliant! ..and there is some PSVR in the mix too!

To get the full run-down on whats what, and whether ‘Ice-Man’ and ‘Maverick’ will be friends after all…… check out the Video Review below.

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Byte Size – Gungrave VR, PSVR Review

Jan 23, 2019 Guy 1304 Views ANIME, Gungrave, Marvelous, PSVR

Initially I knew nothing about Gungrave, but after a quick Google Search, I came to understand that this is a long standing Anime franchise from Japan and it has had a single video game release back in 2002 on the PS2.

Gungrave’s overarching story is about Brandon Heat or ‘Grave’, a reincarnated death dealer who seeks revenge on evil syndicates and baddies and …well you get the idea.

The Good – There isn’t any. Maybe the character model of Grave, it looks quite good at times, and the tutorial is quite good. But that’s about it.

The Bad – The shooting feels slow, the enemies are mindless cannon fodder and the whole game lacks any identity.

The Ugly – It’s just not fun. Nothing in the game adds anything to the brilliantly immersive VR gaming-space.

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Summer Musings of a Growing Gamer-Girl

Jan 13, 2019 Guy 1930 Views Gamergirl, Halo Reach, Nina, Portal, Senua

Happy to announce another Feature from resident Gamer-Girl Nina, with a terrific personal insight to the impact modern gaming has had on her.

Take it away kid…

Video games have been a part of my life ever since I was a kid. Dad talks about his Atari 2600 and Sega Master System days with such fondness. But my formative years of gaming are occurring now. I remember, as a young child, watching in awe as my Dad played games like Bastion, Mass Effect and Halo and I could not help but be enthralled by the characters and grandeur of the experiences.

Now I have had the chance to grow as a gamer, I have my own experiences to reflect upon.

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Nacon “Daija” Arcade Stick, Video Review

Jan 6, 2019 Guy 1867 Views Bluemouth, Hardware Review, Nacon

Nacon are the relative new kids on the block, as far as Video Game accessories go, but the French company seems to go from strength to strength in the field, first with its excellent PS4 controller, now the “Daija” (Japanese for “Large Serpent”) is here to challenge for a podium spot in the popular Fight Stick market.

Check out the Video Review – where we give the rundown on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly parts of this stick!

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Byte Size – Beat Saber, PSVR Review

Dec 31, 2018 Guy 1456 Views Beat Saber, Playstation, PSVR

With Playstation VR going from strength to strength in 2018 though, it seemed only matter of time before an immersive music-based game would raise its virtual head. Low and behold, little known Czech-based developer Beat Games have done just that.

The Good- Beat Saber is a game where the whole family can play….and more importantly, WANT to play. It is unique, easy to understand and fun. There is no motion sickness, looks great and even works as light physical exercise. My wife is NOT (yes in capitals)… not a gamer, and she loves this game.

The Bad – The music selection is very limited, which is a big deal for a music rhythm game. None of the songs you will likely know, and worse you cannot add custom music like our PC cousins can.

The Ugly – At $48.95 it’s pretty expensive when compared to some of the other amazing titles on offer on PSVR.

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The Koru-Cottage Games of The Year 2018

Dec 16, 2018 Guy 1603 Views Alienation, Ashen, ESO, Fallout, Firewall, Forza, Microsoft, Moss, Mudrunner, Mutant Year Zero, Nintendo, No Man's Sky, PS4, Sony, Spiderman, Strange Brigade, Switch, XBOX

The end of 2018 fast approaches and what an amazing year of games we have had. Playstation have had more AAA exclusives you can poke a stick at, Xbox has changed the gaming landscape with the amazing offering that is Game-Pass and Fortnite…..well has taken all the money and given us silly dances in return.

But I hear you say, enough talk…….. what are the Games of The Year down at the Cottage?

Well, here we go.

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Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, PS4 Review

Dec 16, 2018 Guy 1306 Views strategy, Tactical, turn based, XCOM

“Tactical” is a word that not only governs much of John Wick’s dress sense, but is also a gaming sub-genre that probably sends shivers down the spine of many younger gamers. But to then pile on descriptors like – “turn based strategy”- I would suspect any self-respecting, Fortnite playin tween would throw a tantrum, yell at his Mum and storm out of the room. So in this day and age of Video Games, will we ever see games of a tactical ilk again?

Well thankfully yes. For those of us who remember games like Laser Squad, the Golden Age of Sid Meiers, Civilisation and of course XCOM, the genre lives on…… boy does it live on!

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is an evolved version of the XCOM gameplay model, but with a heavy dose of exploration and stealth, and I have to say…….it is Brilliant. (And there is not a silly dancing or angsty teens to be seen.)

Check out our Video Review below. Click it, Like it, Share it!

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Why I LOVE R6: Siege

Dec 15, 2018 Guy 3250 Views Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft

Guest writer and resident Siege fan-girl, Nina has chucked a feature together, digging down into why she likes Rainbow 6 just so dang much. ENJOY!

I will go ahead and say it right off the bat; I am not a hardcore multiplayer gamer. I never played CoD, I only ever played the Titanfall 2 and Halo campaigns and I was absolute trash at Destiny crucible.

That said, I do play a hell of a lot of one multiplayer game, and that game is Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege. So, with the new season just hitting consoles, I thought it is the perfect time to discuss why I, a self-confessed-not-so-good-at-multiplayer gamer, love Siege.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, PS4 Review

Nov 19, 2018 Guy 1290 Views Activision, Battle Royale, Black Ops, Call of Duty

When Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was announced, and it was revealed that it would be the first Call of Duty game ever to not feature a single player campaign, I will admit, I drew a breath in surprise.

If it wasn’t for 2018’s God of War, Spider-Man and Read Dead releases, I would have taken this omission of a campaign as a clear hint that singleplayer games are getting ‘Fortnited’ out of existence. But no, it is now clear that Activision have had to priorities development resources to try and jump on the Battle Royale train, while the getting is good.